Alzheimer's Disease is a degenerative brain disorder characterized by premature senility and dementia. It involves the parts of the brain that controls thought, memory, and language. The disease starts with mild memory problems and ends with severe brain damage. Patients who have this disease live from 8 to 10 years after they are diagnosed, but the disease can last for as many as 20 years. Scientists think that up to 4 million Americans suffer from this disease. The Disease usually begins after age 60. Its inheritance pattern is recessive.